You Had To Know Step Was Gonna Bounce Back

05 Mar, 2017

Madison Square Garden’s decision to play no sound during warmups or stoppages in play in the first half Sunday created a silent setting that was more fitting for middle school than a nationally televised NBA game.

”It was weird,” Curry said.

Everything was back to normal by the end.

Curry broke out of a shooting slump with 31 points and moved into the top 10 on the NBA’s career 3-point list, and the Golden State Warriors bounced back from consecutive losses to beat the New York Knicks 112-105.

Klay Thompson added 29 points to help the Warriors end their first regular-season losing streak in nearly two years.

Curry scored 15 on 6-of-8 shooting in the third quarter, once the music came back. He noticed the lack of noise in the locker room before the game, saying the Warriors were trying to pump themselves up once they took the court.

”That was pathetic. It was ridiculous. It changed the flow of the game, it changed everything,” said Golden State’s Draymond Green, adding that it was ”disrespectful” to innovators of NBA in-game entertainment.

”They need to trash that, because that’s exactly what it was.”

The Splash Brothers had dried up as Golden State dropped two in row following Kevin Durant’s knee injury, but they regained their touch Sunday. Curry hit five 3-pointers, passing Chauncey Billups for 10th place, and added eight rebounds and six assists.

Thompson had a 3-pointer and two other baskets during a late surge that allowed Golden State to pull away after leading by one midway through the fourth quarter.

”We knew we’d be fine, getting back to who we are,” Curry said.

Derrick Rose scored 28 points, and Kristaps Porzingis had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Knicks, whose fans embraced the Warriors with their own team barely hanging on to playoff hopes.

”If we could be at their level one day in New York, I think it would be 10 times bigger than what they’re doing, just because it’s New York,” Porzingis said. ”The city is hungry for basketball, the city is hungry for success. So that’s the goal for us, to get to that level one day and be a championship contender.”

The Warriors lost to Washington in the game Durant was injured and followed that with a season-low 87 points Thursday in a loss to Chicago, ending their NBA-record streak of consecutive regular-season games without losing two in a row at 146.

”We’re surviving to this point,” coach Steve Kerr said. ”We obviously lost our first two games without him, so it’s good to get a win without him tonight. This is how it’s going to be for a while, so we have to get used to it.”

Curry had been 4 for 31 from 3-point range during their three-game road trip and missed six of his eight attempts in the first half. The Warriors led by only two in the final 90 seconds of the third, but he spun for a layup and hit more 3-pointers before the period’s end, including one with 5.4 seconds left that made it 84-76.

Golden State would build a 13-point lead that New York trimmed to 97-96 before Curry passed to Thompson for a 3-pointer that started the Warriors’ finishing kick.